Employing a maid is a pretty common practice in many Singaporean households, with many working parents needing extra help at home. Unfortunately, not all maid-employer relationships turn out well for many reasons. So what happens then when a parent has to deal with a maid attitude problem, with already so much on his/her plate?
Maid Attitude Problem: Maid Gets Jail For Contaminating Family’s Food
An Indonesian domestic helper, Diana, has been charged guilty and sentenced to jail after a district court hearing on Monday, January 13 2020.
The 30 year old, who goes by only one name, was charged with six months and seven weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to two counts of mischief.
The maid, hired in 2017, had intentionally mixed her own menstrual blood, urine and saliva into her employer and family’s rice and drinking water in August last year.
Photo: istock
On why she did so, Diana believed that the family who drank the water would “agree with whatever she did and would not scold her over her performance”.
It was said that the family did end up consuming the contaminated items.
In addition, over $13,000 was stolen from the family, according to the same report. Diana had plotted to steal from her employer’s mother, a 67-year-old housewife.
As told to District Judge Sarah Tan by the Deputy Public Prosecutor Angela Ang, Diana monitored the housewife whenever she keyed the passcode into her iPad, in hopes to get access to the safe where she kept her money.
Photo: iStock
She then waited until she had the chance to be alone in the housewife’s bedroom where she attempted theft.
The monies stolen was then passed to “an unknown Indonesian woman”. The cash was eventually sent back to Indonesia, Diana’s home country.
It was said by Deputy Public Prosecutor Angela Ang that the money was not recovered.
Maid Apologised For Her Actions “From the bottom of my heart”
Diana was remorseful about what she had done and had apologised to the family, “from the bottom of my heart”,
reported Channel NewAsia. She also said that she had not committed any crime in Indonesia.
Through the help of an interpreter, she explained that she was a divorcee and only stole because her family was experiencing “some distress” in Indonesia.
“I am staying in remand for two months and I cannot work,” she had said. With her being the breadwinner, she added, she also has to support a child and an ill and aged mother.
Photo: iStock
Maid Attitude Problem: How Can I Tell To Avoid Complications?
It can be easy to jump into conclusions about whether your maid is getting on your bad side. But on other instances, your gut feeling might be right, no matter how small that nagging thought is.
Here are some common yet subtle signs you can look out for:
1) Gives vague answers to your questions
Sure, some of them could be unsure. But do not dismiss your maid’s behaviour when he/she starts to evade your question as soon as you ask him/her about it.
If he/she starts getting defensive especially if you ask for details that are necessary, that is a red flag to look out for. But always, tackle the situation with tact.
2) Refuses to accept feedback
You might already be giving your maid the freedom to do things his/her own way, however, there are certain requests that should still be followed, especially when it comes to your child.
If your maid refuses to compromise, and accept feedback, this signals another red flag.
Reluctance to act on feedback can mean your helper is not a good collaborator. And it’s important to have teamwork to best care for your little one.
“The first few weeks were already horrible. She didn’t know how to follow simple instructions,” confided mum Kirsten S. on the parenting community platform, theAsianparent Community.
3) Constantly makes comments about your parenting
Your maid might have a belt of experiences under him/her, but that does not give him/her the liberty to freely comment on your parenting ways.
Of course, he/she is free to express his/her opinion. But in the event your maid undermines your authority and pushes his/her own beliefs about how you handle your child, that could signal future problems down the road.
Jared M., an theAsianparent Community member, believes it helps to let nannies know what your expectations are right off the bat.
“When they don’t deliver, take some time to correct them,” he wrote.
Source: The Straits Times, Channel NewsAsia, TNP
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